A reader may begin by sampling one
of Sadaris's stories, then pick another, and finally make sure he reads every word between the covers. Certain 'visuals' will
sear into memory. It's that good.
Here's a random excerpt from the
night his father threw him out of the house when the author was 22. His mother was driving him across town so he could stay
at his sister's apartment:
"On the way we listened to the rebroadcast
of a radio call-in show in which people phoned the host to describe the various birds gathered around their backyard feeders.
"Normally the show came on in the morning,
and it seemed strange to listen to it at night. The birds in question had gone to bed hours ago and probably had no idea they
were still being talked about. I chewed this over and wondered if anyone back at the house was talking about me."
(From Donna Seaman's review for the American
Library Association: "Sedaris is nervy as a tightrope walker, sharply hilarious, teasingly misanthropic, yet genuinely compassionate.
He has a unique ability to supply exactly the right details to bring every funny, awkward, ludicrous, painful, horrible real-life
moment into a harrowingly crisp focus.")
Sedaris is a playwright and commentator
for NPR. Last year he performed his material on "Live at Carnegie Hall."
